I wonder if all special snowflakes deep down inside actually want to live up to the example Caligula set.

Funny story about Caligula. His actual Latin name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. "Caligula" was a nickname, given to him by the soldiers that his father commanded. Little Gaius was very proud of his footwear, miniature copies of the soldiers' caligae, the hobnailed sandal-boots that they wore. Caligula is a diminutive of that.

Yes, children, the most feared and terrible of the Roman emperors has been immortalized as "Bootsie."

I wonder if all special snowflakes deep down inside actually want to live up to the example Caligula set.

Funny story about Caligula. His actual Latin name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. "Caligula" was a nickname, given to him by the soldiers that his father commanded. Little Gaius was very proud of his footwear, miniature copies of the soldiers' caligae, the hobnailed sandal-boots that they wore. Caligula is a diminutive of that.

Yes, children, the most feared and terrible of the Roman emperors has been immortalized as "Bootsie."

Reminds me of a book on the Indo-European language I read. In the middle of a very dry discussion of how the name Cerberus can be traced back to a root meaning "dappled or variegated in colour," the author mused, "of course, this means that the Gates of Hell are guarded by a three-headed dog named 'Spot'".

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My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

I wonder if all special snowflakes deep down inside actually want to live up to the example Caligula set.

Funny story about Caligula. His actual Latin name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. "Caligula" was a nickname, given to him by the soldiers that his father commanded. Little Gaius was very proud of his footwear, miniature copies of the soldiers' caligae, the hobnailed sandal-boots that they wore. Caligula is a diminutive of that.

Yes, children, the most feared and terrible of the Roman emperors has been immortalized as "Bootsie."

Reminds me of a book on the Indo-European language I read. In the middle of a very dry discussion of how the name Cerberus can be traced back to a root meaning "dappled or variegated in colour," the author mused, "of course, this means that the Gates of Hell are guarded by a three-headed dog named 'Spot'".

Gee, all those casting errors over the years...guess "Fluffy" was a more appropriate name than realized, LOL (Harry Potter)

I wonder if all special snowflakes deep down inside actually want to live up to the example Caligula set.

Funny story about Caligula. His actual Latin name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. "Caligula" was a nickname, given to him by the soldiers that his father commanded. Little Gaius was very proud of his footwear, miniature copies of the soldiers' caligae, the hobnailed sandal-boots that they wore. Caligula is a diminutive of that.

Yes, children, the most feared and terrible of the Roman emperors has been immortalized as "Bootsie."

Reminds me of a book on the Indo-European language I read. In the middle of a very dry discussion of how the name Cerberus can be traced back to a root meaning "dappled or variegated in colour," the author mused, "of course, this means that the Gates of Hell are guarded by a three-headed dog named 'Spot'".

Thank you both- I REALLy needed that laugh!

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If wisdom’s ways you wisely seek,Five things observe with care,To whom you speak,Of whom you speak,And how, and when, and where.Caroline Lake Ingalls

I wonder if all special snowflakes deep down inside actually want to live up to the example Caligula set.

Funny story about Caligula. His actual Latin name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. "Caligula" was a nickname, given to him by the soldiers that his father commanded. Little Gaius was very proud of his footwear, miniature copies of the soldiers' caligae, the hobnailed sandal-boots that they wore. Caligula is a diminutive of that.

Yes, children, the most feared and terrible of the Roman emperors has been immortalized as "Bootsie."

To be fair, he got that nickname when he was about four years old......

But it's one of those funny little quirks of history that most people don't get into history enough to find and appreciate!

And the brazen gates of Hades being guarded by "Spot"? Hilarious.

Although it does point out that the Greek Gods had no more imagination in naming their dog than the six year old down the street, who also has a dog named "Spot"!

At the grocery (AGAIN) yesterday with my daughter, age 8. This time it wasn't in the holiday baking aisle, at least. I was in the dairy aisle and passed a woman with two small children. The kids were obviously excited about Christmas and were singing and talking about Santa and presents and maybe getting snow. They were speaking at an average conversational volume level, not obnoxious or painfully loud to be around. I passed them, DD wished them Merry Christmas. All was good. A lady came around the corner of the aisle and searched for items near the kids. They started singing again and she turned on them with this angry, irritated expression and said, "SHHHHHH." The shushing was just as loud, if not louder, as the singing and done in this really hostile, hissing sort of way.

My jaw dropped. She clearly didn't know this family and she was angrily shushing the kids! The mother said, "Ma'am. Please don't do that."

The woman snapped, "I HAVE A HEADACHE. I don't need all that extra noise! Tell them to shut up!"

The mother opened her mouth to respond, but glanced at her children and pushed the cart away from Headache Lady. On the next aisle, I ran into the mom again. The kids were much quieter and all their happy spirit seemed to be sucked out of them. The mom and I shared this incredulous, "What the heck?" look. DD told the kids she really liked their singing, which made them smile a little.

I didn't run into the family again, but a few aisles later I crossed paths with Headache Lady. DD was telling me a funny story from school in a completely normal, not-loud conversational tone. Headache Lady saw her and very clearly narrowed her eyes at my daughter. I watched her face change to that angry, irritated expression she wore earlier when she shushed the kids. DD saw it too and stopped speaking. Headache Lady seemed frustrated and that she no longer had a target and huffed off, muttering to herself about loud kids everywhere. DD continued her story, relatively unfazed.

It was like she was actively seeking out children to "upset her" so she could fuss at them. If you have a headache, I sympathize, but perhaps you should stay away from a very busy, noisy grocery store until you feel better.

Normally, I'm not a "but they're just being chiiiiiiildreeeeeen" person, but this seems petty and mean spirited and very very speshul.

Reminds me of a time I was on a city bus that did a regular commuter route (meaning that you are stuck with the same people for about half an hour between the suburb and the main city.) A woman got on with two kids. One was probably early school aged and the other was a toddler. They were not angels, but they weren't doing anything wrong. Just chatting, chatting, chatting, chatting. They were using inside voices. One of the other regulars on the bus tried to engage me in a PA under-my-breath-but-hoping-she-hears grumble about "rude people who breed like rabbits."

I was a little taken aback because if someone wants to have ten kids in ten years, I might call them crazy, I might call them irresponsible, I might wonder why the heck they would do that, but when it comes down to it, it's not my business! I'm not one to make it mine either.

Besides, she didn't have ten kids. She had two and they looked to be about 2-4 years apart. That seems pretty reasonable to me and would be to even many of my friends who do not tolerate children very well.

Because this man was a regular, I knew he had two kids of his own (teen-aged.) Does he really go home and tell his wife to keep them dead silent (you irresponsible irresponsible parent of the human variety, you!)? I had also seen him and others engage in much louder, spirited discussions about current events.

I just kept reading and gave him a look that I hoped conveyed that I found his griping much more disturbing than background chatter of the children.

At the grocery (AGAIN) yesterday with my daughter, age 8. This time it wasn't in the holiday baking aisle, at least. I was in the dairy aisle and passed a woman with two small children. The kids were obviously excited about Christmas and were singing and talking about Santa and presents and maybe getting snow. They were speaking at an average conversational volume level, not obnoxious or painfully loud to be around. I passed them, DD wished them Merry Christmas. All was good. A lady came around the corner of the aisle and searched for items near the kids. They started singing again and she turned on them with this angry, irritated expression and said, "SHHHHHH." The shushing was just as loud, if not louder, as the singing and done in this really hostile, hissing sort of way.

My jaw dropped. She clearly didn't know this family and she was angrily shushing the kids! The mother said, "Ma'am. Please don't do that."

The woman snapped, "I HAVE A HEADACHE. I don't need all that extra noise! Tell them to shut up!"

The mother opened her mouth to respond, but glanced at her children and pushed the cart away from Headache Lady. On the next aisle, I ran into the mom again. The kids were much quieter and all their happy spirit seemed to be sucked out of them. The mom and I shared this incredulous, "What the heck?" look. DD told the kids she really liked their singing, which made them smile a little.

I didn't run into the family again, but a few aisles later I crossed paths with Headache Lady. DD was telling me a funny story from school in a completely normal, not-loud conversational tone. Headache Lady saw her and very clearly narrowed her eyes at my daughter. I watched her face change to that angry, irritated expression she wore earlier when she shushed the kids. DD saw it too and stopped speaking. Headache Lady seemed frustrated and that she no longer had a target and huffed off, muttering to herself about loud kids everywhere. DD continued her story, relatively unfazed.

It was like she was actively seeking out children to "upset her" so she could fuss at them. If you have a headache, I sympathize, but perhaps you should stay away from a very busy, noisy grocery store until you feel better.

Normally, I'm not a "but they're just being chiiiiiiildreeeeeen" person, but this seems petty and mean spirited and very very speshul.

I can understand her frustration. Children's voices are very high-pitched, and high pitches make my headaches worse. However, if I were in that situation, I would just push through and remember that they really are well-behaved kids. I don't need to inflict any bad moods I have on the general population.

I'm trying to figure out a menu I can mostly prepare ahead of time (or things that don't take much prep time anyway), and I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen all day when I could be relaxing.

I gift you with the menu of a party I attended last night: a barbequed brisket, sliced, in a roasting pan, meatballs from Sam's Club cooked according to the bag's instructions in a crock-pot, and a big basket of sandwich rolls, cut into 2" long slices. Assorted other things like a veggie tray, a cheese tray, olives, pickles, and some chip and dip. And an arrangement of cupcakes frosted to look like Santa. (store bought)Everyone just raved about the brisket and meatball sandwiches.

A ham and maybe a turkey breast or two could be cooked a day ahead and then just sliced on the day. Provide some nice rolls, sliced cheeses, and other toppings and you've got a nice sandwich spread.

Add a crockpot full of a nice chili or soup; maybe another with hot cider (or a big pot on the stove can be kept at a low temperature all day if you like - just top off as needed).

Today at Trader Joes. While I get they have 9 bazillion kinds of cheese and people like to browse, when you park your cart parallel to the case, blocking half of it, it's really quite annoying. Its much easier if you leave it a short distance away, and only stand and look, as its easier to move if someone wants something you're in front of! this happened no less than three times to me today.

actually, it goes for anything really, not just the cheese, but today was particularly irksome as i was trying to find something, and had to wait while they looked as they didn't her my polite excuse mes.

A man came into the library yesterday and asked me "where the science journals are". Trying to narrow it down, I asked him which journal he was looking for.

Man: ::condescending tone:: Just the area with all the science journals.Me: There's isn't a single area with all the science journals. The paper copies we have are shelved in with the rest of the collection.Man: How can that be?! Me: ...they're shelved by call number.Man: No, they're all supposed to be in one place! That's how it was when I was a student here! [note: I work in a university library]Me: When was that?Man: About 10 years ago.Me: Yeah, things have changed since then. Man: ::sigh:: Okay, just tell me where I can find [name of science journal].Me: ::looks it up in the catalogue:: I'm afraid we don't have a paper copy of that. Just the electronic version.Man: That's crazy! Look up [another science journal].Me: Same thing, I'm afraid.Man: What, did you just throw away the paper copies? Me: Probably. In the last 10 years, things like journals have become mostly digital. Some of them don't even print paper versions anymore. If we have access to the digitized versions, the library chose not to keep the paper copies for space reasons.Man: ::heaving a great sigh:: Well, I'll just look at the digital versions then.Me: Do you have a student or staff ID?Man: No.Me: I'm sorry, you won't be able to access our online resources. They're only available to students and members of the faculty and staff.Man: That's completely ridiculous! Me: Not really. Databases are expensive, and students pay for access with their tuition. Non-students don't pay tuition and so aren't given access.Man: That's completely STUPID! Can you pull up the journals for me? Me: No, I'm sorry.Man: USELESS! ::walks out of library::

I mean, I get that he was frustrated that he couldn't get the journals he wanted, but that didn't give him the right to be rude to me because the library hadn't stayed exactly as it was in 2002 (his tone throughout was VERY short and annoyed). Then he verged into SS territory by getting angry that he couldn't get into the library databases (dude, it's NOT A PUBLIC LIBRARY. The rules are different!).

At least it made the day a little interesting, the library is still open even though nearly all the students have gone home for the break, and the place is absolutely dead.

Very interesting. At both the Universities I have attended alumni have the ability use the library with an alumni card or apply for a library day pass. I thought it was a universal privelege that was extended tby all universities to alumni. Although if that's true of your institution, I might not have bothered informing him.

There's a new girl in my martial arts class who hates any sort of contact or anyone putting any energy into drills. She's done a different martial art for YEARS so I really don't understand why she's like this, but she insists that no one should grab her or come at her with any sort of force whatsoever. She told our instructor numerous times (in front of me, but without looking at me) that she can't stand working with me because I put some aggression in it. The instructor just looked at her and said "...right, because obviously rapists and muggers are going to be gentle." He then told her to actually go through the motions of hitting me back with more oomph/seriousness instead of just half-heartedly pantomiming the movements. She said "Well obviously that's not how I'm going to do it on the street!"

Update on the Mom who said I was excluding her child by calling our party today an end of term party rather than a Christmas party. (I have kids who do not celebrate Christmas in my class).

She came today with a present for every child. A bag of M&M with some story about how the M told the story of Christ. The boy handed them out - and the kids put them directly in their backpacks because plain M&M's have peanut warnings. Mom asked me if he handed them out. I said Yes. She asked if I saw the verse, I said yes and went to take care of things I needed to do. I'm pretty sure she was spoiling for a fight on this. No need I followed the rules as they stand.

I did give my principal a heads up in case a parent calls to complain thinking I handed them out. But the kids that know their parents wouldn't like it either gave the present to a seatmate or tore the message off. I saw them in the recycling bin.